Dance with Me
by Michelle Pruitt
Summary: Draco is desperate to be loved. Hermione hungers to be set free. They have no idea that the person they desire can be found only in their enemy. By the time they understand, will it be too late? Draco/Hermione.
1. Chapter 1

"One-shot"

Disclaimer: If I were J.K. Rowling, Draco and Hermione would be together!!

(A/N): Alright guys, this is how this fic is gonna work. I've already gotten the entire thing written (a whopping four chapters!!) and I'll be updating on Mondays and Fridays. But, hey, if I get a really good response, perhaps a sooner update is in the future?? Thanks for reading, I hope you all like it!

Chapter 1

She wanted to kill him. She wanted to just reach over the steering wheel and wring that lithe little neck of his, shaking it so that that shock of freakishly neat blonde hair would be a complete mess once and for all.

"I still can't believe this- you're planning Ginny's wedding, and she's marrying the one you're in love with."

And she would kill him, too, if the stupid ferret didn't learn to keep his mouth shut.

"Stuff it, Malfoy." Hermione barked. A surge of emotions had been welling up inside of her for the past several days and they were desperate to be released. She was stressed about the wedding plans and the enormous pile of work that had been neglected on her desk. She was angry about Malfoy's accusations that she hated to admit were true. Mostly, however, she was just broken-hearted at the thought of losing any chance she might have had with the love of her life to her so-called best friend.

"But it's all so amusing! You've pined after Harry for your entire life, and then Ginny shows up out of nowhere, and BAM! He's already planning a marriage and hitting you with the news with all the force of an avada kedavra. Forgive me for finding humor in such an ironic situation."

"Malfoy, I swear, if you don't-" Hermione started to see nothing but red, consumed by her anger.

"Granger, calm down, we're going to hydroplane-" Malfoy's attention snapped back to the road.

"We are not going to hydroplane, stop changing the subject!" Hermione barked, unintentionally jerking the steering wheel a little in her fury.

"The road! The road!" Malfoy started to panic. This was exactly why he hated traveling by muggle means, it was so likely to end up in disaster.

Unfortunately, this particular journey was no different.

"We're hydroplaning! We're hydroplaning!" Hermione screeched. The car skid across the watery road like a water bug gliding the surface of a pond. The road was nothing more than a dark blur of raindrops and occasional headlights, but Hermione valiantly attempted to navigate it nonetheless. She swerved and ferociously pummeled the brakes with her foot, but mother nature had other plans for the careening car. Caught in a storm no less violent than the one that had erupted between them, they would now be at the mercy of something as fierce as their own creation.

Hermione didn't stop screaming until the car came to a rather boring and anticlimactic stop at the bottom of a gently sloping hill. Raindrops continued pelting the windows and metal rooftop, the only sound that mingled with their terrified panting. Hermione relaxed, took a deep breath, and released a suffocating tension she didn't know she was holding.

Draco wasted no time once he had gathered his wits. "Are you trying to kill us both, woman? I told you this was a bad idea, I knew we were going to end up like this, but did you listen to me? Nooo, because Granger knows everything and never accepts help from those less intelligent than she!"

Hermione didn't even have the strength to retaliate. Her body had lost all of its energy, and she let her head fall against the headrest. She was still too much in shock from her near-death experience to think of a worthy comeback.

Draco ended his rant, rubbing his temples with his thumb and forefinger. He was honestly just as stressed as she was, but was more skilled at covering it up.

"Sorry." Draco vomited the apology like a rotten meal.

"What was that?" Hermione asked, too astonished at this sudden display of emotions to remember her previous anger.

Draco rolled his eyes. "I'm not saying it again, Granger.'

"I don't believe it. Harry said you'd changed, but…" Hermione scrunched her brow in deep thought, trying to decipher his unusual behavior.

"You didn't really believe that such a bloodthirsty Death Eater like myself could ever change, did you?" Draco said with a highly uncharacteristic sad smile.

"Oh, Draco, I didn't mean-"

"HA! Fooled you! You thought I was going to get all mushy on you, eh, Granger?" Draco pointed his finger at her astonished face.

Hermione put up her hands in mock surrender. "I don't even know what to do with you. Every time I get even remotely close you push me away. You have the gall to crack jokes in the middle of a situation like this? Harry and Ginny's wedding is two weeks away and we're supposed to be at the Dursley's in two hours, but instead we're stuck here with a car that won't start in the middle of a freaking tsunami!" Hermione's hair bounced forcefully with each emphatic shake of her head, right until the very end of her passionate speech.

Draco put both of his hands on her shoulders, attempting to calm the beast that had erupted. "Hermione, calm down. Their wedding will go on in two weeks, even if we are a few hours late tonight. It's going to be okay."

"It's NOT okay, Draco, don't even try to act like nothing's wrong!" Hermione fought the urge to calm down, embracing warmly her paranoid nature.

"Why, just because for once in your life all of your precious planning and schedules didn't save you?" Draco asked with all the sensitivity of a blunt axe.

Draco hit the nail on the proverbial head. Hermione's eyes widened in shock and disbelief, and the frightening realization that he was absolutely right. For her, it was just one more reason to hate him.

Or, dare she even think it, love him.

"Now is the chance for you to do something different, something that isn't written down on a schedule. You have the opportunity to do something crazy, ridiculous even, just for the sake of doing it."

The raindrops drummed on the roof like the thoughts bouncing around in Hermione's head. The temptation to give in and acknowledge his words as truth was strong. Even though he was, after all, Draco Malfoy, he understood something about her that Harry and Ron never had.

Her need to be set free.

A smile spread across her face at this new realization.

"Draco," Hermione spoke, demanding his attention quietly but firmly.

Grey eyes met hers, burning with a passion she'd never seen in him before.

"Dance with me."

Before Draco could even react to the command, Hermione was outside in the downpour and was dragging him along too. He was drenched within seconds, struggling to keep up with Hermione's demanding pull on his hand. His shoes squished, small pools gathering within their rubbery confines. He had to blink several times a second to keep the flood out of his eyes. His vision was blurred by the murky fog, the only distinguishable shape was Hermione's form before him.

Her eyes, suddenly so bright and alive, were what stuck out to him the most. They were the eyes of a girl who was forced to grow up too fast but was finally getting a piece of her childhood back. They whirled and twirled elegantly in the muddy grass, never taking their eyes off of each other. Draco felt like a completely undignified moron, and he'd never felt happier.

"So what now?" Draco asked above the roar of the downpour.

Hermione stopped in mid spin, looking at him with confusion written all over her features. "What do you mean?"

Draco pitched his voice higher, mimicking Hermione's earlier words. "Harry and Ginny's wedding is in two weeks, we're supposed to be at the Dursley's, nag nag nag!"

Hermione laughed light heartedly at his teasing. The sound was nearly snuffed out by the wrath of the storm, but her laughter and happiness refused to die now that it was alive once again.

"A few minutes out in the rain won't kill us, right? All of that can wait."

Finally, Hermione was able to relax.

Draco smiled at her, not smirked; he showed her one of the few true smiles he ever had. Despite the darkness and the fog, the sight of it took Hermione's breath away. A slight softness took over his eyes when he looked at her, a calm that no storm could touch.

"All of that can wait." He repeated her words in slight awe.

A few minutes turned into several minutes, but still they danced on. Maybe if it hadn't been raining, they could have heard the cell phone that was ringing relentlessly on the floor of Hermione's car, the memory filling up with frantic message after frantic message. But it was drowned out within their downpour, lost forever in blissful oblivion.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hermione

Disclaimer: Nope. No profit here. Sorry, guys.

(A/N): Hello again!! I'm pretty pleased with all the support I've gotten from chapter 1. All of you reviewers are amazing!! Special thanks to Aicalas, slytherinqueen23, miss quirky bookworm, and Writer of Mysteries. Your words of encouragement mean so much to me. Now, without further ado, on to chapter 2!!

Chapter 2

"Hermione! Draco! Where have you been?" A terrified Harry asked.

Lightning flashed ominously behind them, illuminating their silhouettes in the open doorway.

Hermione looked awkwardly down at her hands. She was never, ever late. Something so irresponsible was unthinkable for Hermione Granger. She hated it when Harry scolded her like this. Coming from anyone else she could have brushed it off as nothing, but Harry was a completely different matter.

"I'm sorry, Harry. We-" Hermione started.

"Look at you! You're absolutely soaking wet! What did you do, walk in the rain?"

"Well, actually-"

"Do you not understand that my wedding is in two weeks? Two weeks, Hermione. I need to know that I can depend on you."

"But, Harry-"

"Hermione, listen to me-"

"Potter, would you just shut up and let her talk?" Malfoy bellowed, loud enough for Dudley to choke on his eighth donut in surprise. Even after Harry had faced all sorts of terrors, hearing Malfoy speak in that tone always made him shiver a little in fright.

When no one spoke for a few moments, Draco smiled satisfactorily at his handiwork. "Thank you. Now, if you would be so kind as to invite us in."

"Oh, right." Harry stepped awkwardly out of their way as they entered, trailing mud inside like a pack of dirty hyenas.

Hermione and Draco made a slight squishing noise as they sat on the couch. Harry sat in an armchair across from them, gazing at them with all the intensity of an interrogator.

"Go ahead, Hermione." Draco looked at her with an evil smirk.

Hermione matched his smirk with an equally vicious expression of her own. He was enjoying this far too much, she could tell. His Slytherin-tainted personality drank in the conflict before him: Hermione Granger, fighting with the boy she'd loved for years, because she was late to make plans for his marriage to her ex best friend. Draco sat back on the couch, put his hands behind his head like a pillow, and enjoyed the show.

"Well, Malfoy and I were arguing, and then the car started to hydroplane. So we just… well…"

Thinking back on her and Draco's little jaunt in the rain, she knew it'd sound absolutely ridiculous if she tried to explain it. It was something that wasn't put into words, something that was simply understood by the both of them. She knew he wouldn't understand it like they did, but she had to try anyways.

"We… sort of… danced. In the rain. For a while. And then hitched a very awkward ride with a truck driver." Hermione wrung her hands nervously in her lap and avoided Harry's gaze.

Hermione was right about Harry's reaction. He stared at her, his mouth gaping open in a way that was very undignified for one who had not so long ago saved the world from Voldemort. His eyebrows shot up his forehead, disappearing beneath the messy mop of hair.

'You. And Malfoy. Danced. In the rain."

Hermione glanced at Draco for support, but he seemed completely immune to the growing tension. He looked as content as a muggle watching a movie. The only thing missing was the heart-attack-in-a-bowl movie theater popcorn.

"Yes." Hermione confessed. She saw the stress and disbelief evident in Harry's eyes, piled up over the last several days. She knew him well, and could tell that the dam holding his emotions back was about to shatter into a million pieces.

"Hermione, we don't have time to gallivant around in the rain! The catering order was supposed to be finished three hours ago, but now it's too late! What are we going to do if we can't get a caterer, huh? Did you think about that when you went on this little dancing adventure?" Harry's violent green eyes gleamed with intensity.

Hermione recoiled in shock like a puppy that had been kicked by its master for the first time. Never had Harry yelled at her so openly and vehemently. He'd snapped at her on several occasions, sure, but that was nothing compared to the fury that radiated from him now. She would withstand it, though. She bit her lip, and told herself over and over not to cry.

"Did you not even stop to think about us?" Harry stood up and started to pace, his steps as tense as a soldier's march to war. "Did you not realize that we were counting on you to be here? Do you even care?"

Hermione had had enough. He had gone too far, and he knew it.

Hermione stood up in her rage. "I do care about you, Harry Potter, certainly much more than Ginny ever will!"

All the noise squealed to a violent and abrupt halt, leaving them in silence. Hermione blushed a little bit, the true meaning of her own words hitting her full force. She covered her open mouth with her hand and took a step back from a very shocked Harry, suddenly feeling the need to be far, far away from him.

"What… was that?" Harry asked in a slightly concerned tone, as if he thought she was losing her mind.

"I… I'm sorry." Hermione fled out of the room and back outside, into the downpour again.

"Wh-what do you think she meant, Malfoy?" Harry asked Draco, who had perception powers concerning the female mind of which Harry could only dream of having.

"Well, Hermione told you that she cares for you more than Ginny, and Ginny is the woman who loves you enough to marry you. What do you think, Boy Wonder?"

Harry put his head in his hands, Hermione's confession hitting him with all the force of a freight train. "Oh, no…"

"She loves you, Potter. Why, I can't say. But that doesn't change the fact that you just tore her apart because she didn't rush to plan a wedding that makes her cry herself to sleep every night."

Harry looked at him, slightly confused. "How do you know that she cries herself to sleep?"

Draco smirked, "I'm a Malfoy, remember? I have powers of which you know nothing."

Harry shook his head and got dangerously close to laughing. But then he thought of Hermione, broken hearted and out in the rain alone, and then all the laughter immediately died in his throat. He was in one of the most precarious situations of his life, and he had no idea how to get out of it. He only knew that he had to talk to Ginny.

"I need to call Ginny." Harry said resolutely.

"You're not going after Hermione?" Draco asked in wonder.

"There are more important things to be dealt with right now." Harry stalked off.

It wasn't until later that Draco would understand the true intentions behind those words, but to him, it sounded like Harry had just turned his back on his best friend.

Draco shook his head. "Fine, then." He stalked out the door that Hermione had left wide open, almost like she was inviting him to follow. He didn't have to look far for her, a lump with bushy hair sat at the end of the Dursley's driveway. The mass of hair bounced up and down, tossed by her own relentless crying.

He walked towards her, and got soaked all over again. He reached her, and realized that she wasn't even trying to shield herself from the rain. It was like she wanted to be drenched completely, wanted to be cleansed from this awful meeting. She loved that she could hide her sorrow behind the veil of water, her tears mixing with the droplets until they vanished.

"I'm not going back inside." Hermione said adamantly.

She expected him to protest, expected him to tell her forcefully that she would have to face Harry sooner or later. Part of her almost expected him to mock her like he had so long ago. She was surprised when she heard footsteps retreating to the house, and then finally the door closed.

She was a little put-out that he had just left her without a word. Did he care? Did he care that she was sitting out in the rain, pieces of her heart scattered among the wreckage of her life?

Or was he just the same old Malfoy?

Her tears took on a new ferocity, but then she didn't feel the rain hitting her anymore. She could hear it and she could smell it, but she was no longer being pelted by droplets. She looked up out of curiosity.

Malfoy stood next to her, and he was holding an umbrella over both of them.

"Draco?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"It's okay. I'm not going anywhere."

Hermione scooted closer to him and leaned against his legs, a content smile spreading across her face. It truly was a marvel that Draco Malfoy, of all people, could make her feel better in a situation like this.

"What are you doing out here?" Hermione asked.

"Holding an umbrella over you, of course." Draco answered simply.

Hermione smiled again, the tension within her beginning to lessen. She felt his arm slip around her shoulder, pulling her slightly closer to him. She felt so comfortable with him, so warm and so cared for. She would stay outside in the rain with him forever, if only they could stay together.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"You're welcome, Hermione. If the storm ever gets too strong for you to handle on your own, come and stay under my umbrella."

Without even thinking about what she was doing, Hermione reached up and laced her fingers through his. They were both soaking wet and made a slightly awkward squishing noise, but the moment was beautiful nonetheless.

"Hermione! Hermione!"

Harry's voice.

The beautiful moment crumbled around them.

"I canceled the wedding!"

Hermione's head whipped around in shock and confusion.

"Don't you understand? We can be together now."

Draco felt an awful clench in his stomach.

"I love you, Hermione! I've loved you all this time!"

Draco's umbrella crashed to the ground, and was swallowed by the rain.


	3. Chapter 3

(A/N): Hello my beloved readers! Sorry for the late update, I tried to update yesterday but was having some issues. I apologize for not replying to all of my reviews, I'm going to try to do better in the future. Anyways, this is the next-to-last chapter. Special thanks to slytherinqueen23, miss quirky bookworm, and Aicalas. And a thank you to everyone who takes the time to read it. And now, on to chapter 3.

Chapter 3

Harry Potter had done many surprising things in his short life. He had survived the Avada Kedavra before he'd even taken his first steps. He vanquished Voldemort, the most evil wizard of their time, while he was still a mere teenager. Most actions that came from the Golden Boy were so unexpected, it was almost expected from him.

But this one put them all to shame.

"What do you mean you canceled the wedding?" Hermione was stunned. She was finally dry and full of good food, but the shock of his confession an hour ago still hadn't really worn off. Despite the comfort of being out of the rain, there was an awful feeling in her stomach that just wouldn't allow her to be happy for herself.

"Hermione, I've loved you my entire life! Well, ever since first year, at least. I never pushed it because you never seemed interested, and Ron was also head over heels for you. Ginny was interested, though, so I decided to give it a shot with her."

Hermione and Draco looked at each other with suspicion in their eyes, but Harry continued, oblivious to their doubts.

"I thought maybe I'd learn to love her, but still, something was missing. However, before I knew it, she'd proposed to me. I couldn't turn her down and face the wrath of the entire Weasley clan, so I accepted. I thought maybe we could be happy together, and I'd forget my feelings for you. But, Hermione, now that I know you feel the same way, I can't marry Ginny. Now that I know we can be happy together, forever."

"You've loved me all this time?" Hermione asked skeptically.

Harry's face broke into an exuberant smile, missing the half-hearted tone in Hermione's voice. "Yes, exactly! I just didn't think you would ever feel the same. Before I knew it, I was engaged to a woman I didn't love. I'm so, so happy you love me too!"

"Oh, Harry, I don't know. I mean, this will break Ginny's heart." Hermione protested.

"But I'm not in love with Ginny. I'm in love with you, Hermione." Harry knelt before her and took her hands in his.

Hermione looked away awkwardly. She had dreamed about this moment for years, but now… She just felt so empty inside. She also felt awful for crushing Ginny's heart, although part of her felt like she deserved it for stealing Harry in the first place. Despite the fact that Harry had just confessed his undying love for her, everything about this moment felt so wrong.

"Hermione," Harry said, drawing her gaze back to him, "I know it hasn't been that long, and we might be moving too fast, but I've never been more sure about anything than I am about us. In two weeks, I'm scheduled to have a wedding, but I have no bride. Would you… would you join me at the altar?"

Hermione almost choked. Here he was, proposing to her, completely oblivious to the feelings of the woman he'd once proclaimed to love. Proposing to her a life-long union like it was something he did every day.

"Hermione. Will you marry me?"

Hermione looked him over. He was, after all, the man she'd loved for countless years. She'd lost herself millions of times in those green eyes before, she could learn to do it again. Her lack of excitement must have been due to stress. They would make a great couple, and she knew that they would be content.

"Yes. I will marry you."

At this point, the show was no longer enjoyable for Draco. He couldn't explain why, but something snapped inside him when Harry confessed his love. Like a part of his hope had been crushed. He couldn't deny that he did have an awkward bond of sorts with the bookworm, but he had no idea it would create a reaction like this. He decided that it must have been because of the absolute ridiculousness of the entire situation. That had to be it.

Draco bit his lip. He wanted to scream at Hermione, shake her so that her bushy hair looked like it had been electrocuted. "Do you really love him, Hermione? Does he really love you?" He wanted to scream. His thoughts battled for dominance in his head, each argument growing stronger than the last.

Harry leaned in and kissed her then, and it was quite possibly the most awkward kiss Draco had ever witnessed. Hermione looked dreadfully uncomfortable, her eyes remaining wide open and her arms pinned mechanically to her side. Harry, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying himself immensely.

"Something about this just isn't right," Hermione thought to herself. There was no spark of electricity at his touch, no warm feeling spreading throughout her at his kiss. Something was missing, and she knew it, but it was too late to back out now. Plus, at least Harry would be happy. That was what she had always wanted, right?

"I'm so happy, Hermione." Harry said, his green eyes gleaming.

"M-me too, Harry…" Hermione answered uncertainly.

Draco stood up to leave. "Well, I'm very happy for you both." The Slytherin's adept skill of lying was one that he was particularly grateful for at that moment. He put his hand on the doorknob, anxious to put all of this behind him.

Harry's voice froze him like a subzero blizzard.

'Draco, wait! Won't you help us plan our wedding?"

Draco's mouth dropped open slightly. He absolutely could not believe what was happening. He was now in the exact same position that Hermione had been in when she'd woken up that very morning. He smiled a little at the sheer irony of it all, but the laughter that wanted to rise died in his throat. Draco didn't turn around to answer him- he knew that he would snap if he saw their disgustingly happy faces.

"Yes. I will help plan the wedding." Harry and Hermione both started rejoicing, completely oblivious to the tense undertone in Malfoy's voice. He clenched the unfortunate doorknob a little harder than was necessary.

"Well, come and sit with us! We have to make a catering list." Draco grudgingly turned and sat back down in the seat he'd vacated minutes ago. He couldn't help but notice that Harry was much more into the planning than Hermione was, and it made him wonder, just a little. It also made a little spark of hope ignite in him once more, living for one more moment.

"And we'll need two hundred wings, we can call… Hermione? Are you okay?" Harry asked, a concerned expression on his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Hermione smiled weakly, and Harry immediately bought it.

Draco caught her eye and raised an eyebrow, expressing his disapproval. Hermione shrugged back, breaking eye contact, fearing what emotion she would see in his eyes.

All the joy and contentment that Hermione had felt mere hours ago had vanished. It was back to reality, back to wedding planning. At least it was her wedding, though. She should have been ecstatic at that fact.

However, ecstasy couldn't have been farther away from her at that moment. She fought the gloom, forced herself to at least try to get excited. She was a bride planning her wedding, she should be happy beyond compare. It was what was expected of her.

Harry ended up doing most of the planning, with Hermione and Draco adding the necessary nods to let him know that they were at least vaguely paying attention. Honestly, neither one of them were thinking about the wedding plans. Their minds were back in that muddy field, whirling and twirling without a care for the whole world to see. That was where they both wanted to be.

"I think that about wraps it up, don't you?" Harry asked his two companions, still blissfully ignorant of their true state of mind. They absently nodded their assent.

"Yeah, that's enough for one night." Draco said as he stood up to leave. He couldn't stand being in their presence for another minute. He wasn't used to being around people in love, and he didn't plan to start by watching his friend make the biggest mistake of her life.

"Draco, it's nearly two in the morning!" Harry called.

"Yes, Potter. Time for me to go home." No warmth could be found in his frigid, shivering voice, but Harry just assumed it was because of fatigue.

"Stay here, Draco. We have plenty of room. I'm sure the Dursleys will let you have free reign if you tell them you used to be a Death Eater. When I told them Sirius was my godfather, they really turned around."

Draco visibly tensed at the mention of his past. "I really shouldn't-"

"I want you to stay." It was the first thing Hermione had said ever since the proposal, but her voice was strong and assured.

"Hermione?" Harry, yet again, looked confused and a bit concerned.

"Well, it's not safe at night. I'd feel better… if he stayed."

Harry's jealous little demon was slightly placated at this excuse.

"Alright." Draco agreed, defeated. If it was for her, he would do it.

A real smile lit up her face, the first one he'd seen since Harry proposed. He couldn't help but smile back, just a little. Unfortunately, this little interaction didn't go unnoticed by Harry.

"Come on, Hermione. It's time for bed." Harry commanded, suddenly not comfortable with the way that Draco was looking at Hermione.

"Oh, sure," she answered absentmindedly as she stood up to follow him. Harry took her hand in his, and Hermione again reflexively looked back at Draco. Not so long ago, it had been his hand that held hers. It had felt so good, so right. Now it only felt like Harry was dragging her along like a dog on a leash.

Draco shook his head, disgusted. He knew they didn't belong together, he could tell just by looking at them. There was no magic when their eyes met, no sparks illuminating the entire room when their hands touched. He knew they wouldn't be happy together. He couldn't exactly profess to be familiar with the traits and quirks of love, however. His parents had shown him nothing but scorn since the day he was born. But he knew that he and Hermione had something magical that she and Potter could never have.

Sleep did not find Draco easily that night. The moonlight shining through the window was atrociously bright, and Vernon Dursley's snoring could easily drown out a freight train. The sheets were a tad scratchier than what he would have liked, and the pillow just wasn't quite fluffy enough.

Oh yeah, and the fact that Harry and Hermione were sleeping in the same room. That was enough to keep anyone awake at night, especially Draco.

After Draco had counted a good five hundred sheep and lost count several times, he resigned himself to a sleepless night. He pushed the rumpled covers aside and trudged downstairs to raid the kitchen.

Draco never had liked the Dursleys much, but he had to admit, they sure knew how to pack a refrigerator full of food. There were varieties of cheeses, leftovers from thousands of forgotten meals, and close to two dozen containers of chocolate explosion pudding just waiting to be released from their plastic prison.

Draco scanned his options before grabbing six containers of pudding. He was going to devour them with a ferocity that would put a single, lonely female on valentine's day to shame.

Draco drowsily meandered towards the kitchen table, victuals held protectively from any pudding thieves who happened to be lurking in the dark places of the Dursley house. He reached his destination and set the pudding cups on the wooden surface in a nice, straight line. He opened each container for better, more efficient feeding, stacking the wrappers to the side. He wielded his weapon of choice- a spoon- and devoured them with all the force of a nuclear powered vacuum cleaner.

"Hitting the pudding a little hard, aren't we?" A voice broke into his thoughts, bringing his savage feeding frenzy to a temporary halt.

Draco looked across the table towards the direction of the voice. Enormous eyes just as chocolate as the pudding smeared on his face gazed back at him. Unruly bed hair sprung from her scalp in jerky, awkward curls. Red tendrils snuck into the whites of her eyes, portraying her lack of sleep. However surprised he was to see her there, her mere presence wasn't what startled him the most.

No, the thing that forced Draco to freeze right in the middle of his epic eating journey wasn't who sat before him. It was what lay just in front of her.

In front of Hermione lay six empty pudding containers, all of them in a straight line, wrappers stacked in a separate pile to the side.

Draco took in the plastic shrine before him and observed, "You're hitting the pudding pretty hard yourself."

"It's what I eat when I'm… uh…" Hermione searched for the right word.

"Upset?" Draco offered.

"Yeah," Hermione admitted, her eyes downcast.

"Me too." Draco said.

Their eyes met, and that bolt shot through Draco again. It was awful and wonderful all at the same time, because she was looking at him and no one else. It wasn't much, but it was enough for Draco to realize that he couldn't lose her.

"Why did you agree to marry him, Hermione?" Draco asked, his voice surprisingly gentle.

Hermione's gaze couldn't find something to focus on, jumping from one object to another, never landing on the boy in front of her. "I love him."

Draco tilted his head to the side, observing her. "Do you really?"

"Yes." Hermione almost choked on the word that she knew was a lie.

"Then why did you look like you were going to throw up when he kissed you?" Draco asked bluntly.

"Just nerves, I guess." Hermione laughed uncertainly, shrugging it off.

Draco shook his head, taking a rather large bite of pudding to calm his nerves. "You're doing it again."

"Doing what?" Hermione asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Whatever people ask you to put on your precious schedule." Draco spat the last bit of the sentence vehemently.

Hermione looked shocked, and slightly offended. "What right do you have to accuse-"

"Look at yourself, Hermione! You've looked like a walking zombie ever since Potter proposed to you, like he sucked the life and fire out of you. You're eating pudding like this is your last meal, which you only do when you're upset. This isn't right, Hermione, and you know it."

"So what if it isn't perfect? All I've ever wanted was to be with Harry and make him happy." Hermione yelled ferociously back.

"What about your own happiness? What if in the attempt to make him happy, you completely forget about yourself?"

"We get along and he treats me well, which is all I could ask for!" Hermione's eyes shone with anger. She had to justify herself, she had to make him understand. Perfect love didn't exist, and she wasn't about to get her hopes up.

"No, it's not!" Draco's fist pounded the table. "You want someone who's just as spontaneous as you want to be. You want someone who will push you to be better, not someone who will make you merely satisfied. You want someone who will dance with you in the rain and doesn't care what the rest of the world thinks."

Hermione stared at him open-mouthed. He was right, he was so terrifyingly right. But she didn't know if someone like that would ever come along, and she didn't want to risk losing Harry while waiting for someone that might not even exist.

"Well, we can't all have a happy ending." Hermione stated simply.

Draco shook his head and took another bite of pudding. "Funny, I'd always thought you were a fighter."

"What?" Hermione asked, confused yet again.

"I never would have pinned you as someone who'd give up just because they didn't want to fight for what they really wanted." Draco observed her while swallowing another mouthful of pudding.

"Well… things change. I have to learn to be happy with what I have."

"Yeah. I suppose things do change." Draco said, his eyes boring into hers, trying to convey to her as many meanings as he could.

"You know, I'm not really hungry anymore." Draco licked his spoon and set it down on the table, pushing the pudding containers towards Hermione. "You eat these. You need them more than I do." With that he stood up and left, trudging dejectedly back up the stairs to his room.

Before Hermione had even started on one of Draco's pudding cups, her eyes were drowned in anguished tears, and the spoon, forgotten, fell to the floor.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter, and I'm not even creative enough to come up with a catchy disclaimer. tears!

(A/N): Hello again!! Here's the final chapter. I want to take this opportunity to send a huge thank you to all of my readers/reviewers!! I love you all so dearly. Special thanks to Aicalas, miss quirky bookworm, slytherinqueen23, and Writer of Mysteries. Your support means the world to me. Anyways, on with the last chapter!

Chapter 4

Hermione felt sicker than she had in her entire life, and that was saying a lot. Her stomach clenched and then unclenched and clenched all over again, trying to warn her of the grave mistake that loomed before her. What made her even more nauseous was the realization that she was far too deeply involved in this to listen to her gut instinct and turn back.

Harry waited at the end of the aisle, green eyes gazing proudly back at her. Her father's arm was linked through hers, ready to lead her down the walk that would change everything. The entire congregation turned around to look at her, their gazes awkward and unwelcome. The wedding march played, the notes loud and clear commanding Hermione to start her march.

She started walking- one foot after the other. The simple task took considerably more effort and concentration than she thought it would, she had to keep reigning her thoughts in, telling herself that it was all for the best. She risked a glance at Harry, he caught her eye and silently mouthed "I love you."

Clench.

All too soon, her wedding march came to an end. Harry reached out and clutched Hermione's hands in his own. He smiled, trying to calm the tension she knew he sensed within her. The priest began to speak, but his words were lost to Hermione. Her mind was far away from this place, entertaining thoughts about someone who was not the man before her.

Hermione snapped out of her silent reverie when she felt Harry slip something very cold and solid around her ring finger. She reflexively looked down and saw the atrocity. It was a beautiful ring, but it looked so wrong on her finger. The gold gleamed in the light, giving it a foreign glint. She wasn't ready to belong to any man, she knew she'd never be ready to belong to Harry.

She had to get out. She didn't belong here, she knew that now. This was not the man she wanted to stand at the altar with. She felt her throat constrict when he smiled at her- realizing then what she had missed all along.

She could never make him happy.

"Hermione Jane Granger, if you would present the ring?" The priest said mechanically, looking at her expectantly. Hermione frantically gazed back into Harry's eyes, struggling with what to do.

"Just go through with it, it's not like you can turn back now!" Her more realistic side argued.

"You know you don't love him! Don't you dare settle!" Her more aggressive, romantic side argued.

Harry could see the conflict evident in her eyes. He misinterpreted her angst for simple, harmless wedding day nerves. He put both of his hands on her shoulders, trying to reassure her. He smiled warmly, and Hermione's heart sank a little bit lower.

"Look at him, look at that adorable face! You're breaking his heart! He'll never speak to you again! Just do what's expected, just do what's easy." Thoughts confused her head like a mess of tangled weeds.

"What happened to the Hermione that loved to dance in the rain? What happened to the Hermione who would sit in a tsunami for hours as long as Draco held an umbrella over her? Where's that Hermione?" Another thought leaped across the recesses of her mind, causing more doubts to assail her.

Finally, though, she knew what she had to do.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

A few gasps and astounded whispers could be heard scattered throughout the congregation, growing stronger and more fervent by the second.

Harry's eyes widened in shock at her words. He must have heard her wrong. She couldn't, she couldn't possibly-

"I'm so, so sorry…" She pulled off the ring that had been placed on her finger not even a minute ago. She put it back in his hand, closing his fingers around a love that would be nothing more than a memory.

"Hermione, you don't mean-" His eyes filled with panic, pouring out sadness and disbelief.

"I have to do this, Harry. For myself." Hermione said. She hated that she was tearing him apart inside, but she also knew that this had to be done.

Harry took her face in both of his hands. "But, Hermione, I'm in love with you!"

Hermione shook her head sadly. "You're not, Harry. You're in love with the idea of being in love. One day, you'll find someone who will make you indescribably happy. But that person isn't me."

Desperation filled Harry's eyes. "Don't do this. Please…"

"I think we both know that it's time for me to leave." Hermione said as she eased out of his grasp. He didn't try to stop her, although Hermione knew that he desperately wanted to. She had seen that longing in his eyes many times before, it was the same look he gave his friends at the end of each term. She had seen it every time they said goodbye.

Hermione was halfway to the door when she turned, feeling Harry's confused and lost gaze that she knew would always follow her.

"Harry. Set me free." She said simply.

Understanding cleared his foggy mind, and finally he knew. She was right, although he hated to admit it. There was someone out there for him, someone that would teach him what love truly is. He tried not to reach out to her as she continued walking to the door, telling himself continually that this was for the best.

"Be free, Hermione. And find the one that makes you happy." Harry said quietly to himself as Hermione exited the chapel. He glanced down at the diamond ring in his hand that should have been on Hermione's finger, and the first lone tear slid down his cheek. It splashed in the middle of the gold ring that was supposed to symbolize their love, shattering into a million pieces.

It was then that the true chaos started. Friends and family stood up from their seats, looking around in astounded wonder. They assaulted him with questions, each one tearing him apart more than the next. She was gone, she was gone, she was gone…

Why?

Harry tightened his grip on the ring, clenching it, wishing he could block out their inconsiderate questions almost as much as he wished he could destroy this awful, terrible, wonderful attachment he knew he'd always have to Hermione. But no matter how hard he tried, he failed at both.

Hermione stormed out of the astonished church. She slammed the doors behind her, not wanting anyone to follow. Her enormous, heavy wedding gown drug her down, trying to keep her away from the freedom she so desperately fought for. But she continued to chase it, knowing finally that it was what she truly wanted.

The rain was pouring so heavily she didn't notice the blond boy standing a few feet in front of her. He held a rather large package, and was having a bit of difficulty holding it up. At her rather loud exit, his head snapped up, and his foot froze in mid-step.

In a flash of lightning their eyes met somewhere in their dark silhouettes, a thousand questions asked and answered in a heartbeat.

"Draco." Hermione breathed.

"I thought you might want this." Draco said as he handed her the package he'd been holding.

She grasped it with some difficulty, and read the label.

"Thirty-six single serving packages of chocolate explosion pudding." She met his eyes, water that had nothing to do with the rain filling her own.

"I got the largest size they had, hopefully it will be enough for the both of us." Draco motioned towards the package.

"I just ran out on my own wedding, I think I might need these more than you do." Hermione joked, although the misery in her eyes drowned out every spark of humor.

Draco said thoughtfully, gazing off into the rain, "Well, I recently lost someone that I love. I think… I might not ever see her again. She's in love with someone else, and I'm sure she'll be spending all of her time with him. I don't think she feels the same way about me."

His gray eyes bore into hers, shining with passion and fire.

"I'm afraid you'll end up sharing more of those than you thought." He added.

Hermione smiled, light filling her eyes once again. She stepped a little closer to him, a force pulling them together refused to be denied.

"Tell me about this girl," She commanded. The rain continued to pelt them. Hermione's recently tamed locks became wild and free again in the downpour.

Draco's heart pounded as he looked into her eyes. He wanted to find the perfect words that would describe his feelings, but he knew that words could never do them justice. Still, he would try.

"Well, she's beautiful, and brilliant. I teased her mercilessly in school, but she forgave me for all that. She's… the only one who's ever forgiven someone like me. Before I even knew what was happening, I'd fallen for her. She's strong and passionate, which draws me even closer to her. She's compassionate, caring… everything I wish I could be. But I know… I know that she deserves someone better than me." His stormy gray eyes looked into hers, a whirlwind of emotions waiting for her response with bated breath.

"This girl… does she know?" Hermione set the monstrosity of pudding down on the stairs, shyly stepping even closer to him. They were less than a foot away from each other now, and still the pull demanded that they be closer.

"She knows now." His eyes bore into hers, searching them, drowning blissfully in their depths. He reached out and ran the tip of his index finger along her jaw, a spark inside of him igniting into a flame.

Hermione wrapped her hand around the back of his head, pulling him down demandingly for a kiss. Their lips met and fire exploded between them, finding in each other every passionate emotion they'd always looked for in others but never found. He wrapped his arm possessively around her waist, never wanting to let her go. All around them the rain poured on, drenching them both, together.

"Hermione." Draco pulled away, words rising in his throat, demanding to be spoken. She looked back at him, her eyes mere inches away.

"Dance with me. Not just now, not just tomorrow. I want you beside me always. Dance with me every day, you and me. Forever."

"Of course, Draco. Of course." Her happiness and joy was evident in her voice.

Hermione smiled up at him, raindrops dripping off of her chin and continually drenching her hair. Still, Draco thought she was unbelievably beautiful. She wrapped her fingers around his hand, and suddenly began pulling him towards an open field behind the church.

The rest of the congregation would always wonder what happened to the runaway bride. They trickled out of the church, sensing that the excitement was finally over. They fled for their cars, trying to stay dry beneath the pelting rain. They were so intent on getting to their cars that they didn't notice the dancing couple behind the church, blissfully lost in their own perfect world.


End file.
